March 20, 2011, Lent 2, Year A. Meditation, prayer and study

Year A Lent 2, March 20, 2011
St. Andrew’s, Elyria
Rev. Catherine Wright

Sermon series on Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
Second sermon: Inward Disciplines of Meditation, Prayer and Study

Meditation:
The purpose of meditation is sinking into the light and life of Christ. It is intimacy and reverence, a perpetual Eucharistic feast in the inner sanctuary of the heart. The aim is to bring this living realty into all of life, all we are and do.

Christian meditation is very different than Eastern or secular meditation. There the goal is to empty oneself, and detachment. Here the goal is to fill ourselves with Christ. Not detachment, but attachment.

Thomas Merton tells us “meditation is really very simple and there is not much need of elaborate techniques to teach us how to go about it.” Of course, we have to want to sink into God- doing so will change us, will bring about repentance and obedience, will create a new heart in us. Some of us do not want that, do not want to change or draw closer to God. We understand that something might have to be let go of, old hurts, understandings, ways of being.

Meditation is fellowship with God- something that God wants with us but that rightfully scares us. We want an intermediary, someone between ourselves and God to diffuse and soften the impact on our lives. But God wants to draw close, get behind our defenses and walls and warm our hardened hearts and minds. Scary stuff indeed!

Foster gives some suggestions for meditation. Make time for it. A quiet place free from interruptions. The same place so you are not hunting for a new place each day. An outward posture that reflects an inner attitude of attention and calm.

We can meditate on scripture, taking a single event, or even word and play with it. Or a still time, centering ourselves, perhaps using a technique such as palms down, palms up that helps us to release that which we need to release and receive what we need to receive.

We can meditate on creation, enjoying the details of the world around us. We can contemplate the events of our time- what is going on and what it means. For guidance on how we can be light and salt in the world as it is.

Prayer:
We sometimes feel that everything is set in the universe and so cannot be changed. But the people who prayed in the Bible, and more contemporary model prayers, pray as if their prayer could and would make a difference. The Bible speaks of great things happening because of the prayers of the people. This puts quite a responsibility on us- our prayers can change the outcome of the world.

There are many types of prayer. Foster chooses to focus on intercessory prayer- praying effectively for others.

Prayer also involves a learning process- like fasting that we heard about last week, and meditation that we have already spoken of today. Foster likens it to working a TV. If the TV doesn’t work when we first try and turn it on, that does not mean there is no such thing as TV. It means something is blocking this set- the cables, cords, all need to be checked until the picture comes on. So it is with prayer. We are doing it right if our prayers come to pass. And the most important piece of prayer is getting in touch with God, being in tune with God. “We must hear, know, and obey the will of God before we pray it into the lives of others.” (Foster, p.39) We are to pray for those for whom we feel called to pray- not because we ought to, or they need it, but because we have an inner sense of compassion and there is the drive to lift them and their needs up in prayers.

An email I received this week put it this way “To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love.” Praying with the intent of forcing God to prove that praying “works” will not produce the desired results. Praying for those whom you know you need to pray for and in the way you feel called to pray for them- i.e. for strength, or peace or guidance and not always for healing of the infirmity, is what we are called to be about. Foster lets us know that “if the idea is accompanied with a sense of dread, then probably you should set it aside. God will lead someone else to pray for the matter.” (p.40) We are not in this alone, we are not the only person praying, but our prayers do matter.

They should be marked by “openness, honesty and trust”. Guided by imagination fueled by the Holy Spirit. Foster suggests blessing your children as they sleep, and praying for people you hear or see as you go about your day. Those on the street as you pass, in cars next to you. A tradition in my family is to pray when we hear sirens- for the emergency personnel going someone, for those that need help, for those who will be affected by the event. Whatever feels like the most needed prayer at the time when I hear those sirens.

Study
Foster starts his chapter on Study with this summary: “The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of the person. They aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. Nowhere is this purpose more clearly seen than in the Discipline of study.” (p.62)

He sees two types of things to be studied- verbal, such as books and lectures, and non-verbal such as nature, events and actions. Study gives us “perception into the reality of a given situation, encounter, book, etc.” (p.64) Foster gives us four steps- repetition, concentration, comprehension and reflection. It is not merely the accumulation of information, but rather acquiring knowledge that we are after. It is seeing and understanding the world the way it really is, not how we or someone else wants us to see it.

We are to study things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious. This is what St. Paul encourages. Many things could be studied that will not lead us closer to God and transformation- movies about murder or how to exploit people, focusing on our own selfish desires and needs, and not on the reality of those around us.

The Bible of course is a good thing to study, but there are other writings as well. And the study of scripture is different than the devotional reading of scripture. Foster suggests setting aside days devoted just to study and getting out of the home to do it. For many of us, our Bible readings are fragmentary- we have never read many of the books straight through. That is a great place to start. Keep a journal of your impressions, findings and questions. There are many experiential classics of Christianity to be read also- from centuries ago to more contemporary writings by the great thinkers and mystics of our tradition. If you need suggestions, just let me know.

Then there is the study of non-verbal things, events and actions. Nature is one of the easier ones to approach. We pay attention. Noticing the new spring growth coming up, the birds and their habits, the way the snow falls on that particular day. Past nature, there are relationships to observe- not with judgment, but just observing and attentive to those around us. We also learn about ourselves- what controls and has influence on us? Study the institutions and culture around us, what is valued, lifted up. What impacts relationships in our society? Is it in harmony with the Gospel, with how Christians are called to be? There is a big caution here- if you find this type of study too depressive or are very weighed down by life, this type of study may not be for you at this time.

Our lessons for today are about having a right relationship with God. Jesus came so that we might have life, we might be drawn to God, and be able to draw to God and be saved. The disciplines are about claiming that salvation and claiming our place of doing God’s will and work in the world. In order to do God’s will, we must know it. Meditation, prayer and study are ways of seeing, really seeing the world the way God does and by the power of the Holy Spirit understanding God’s will for the world and the role we can play in it. Abram heard the voice of God, and obeyed it, bringing blessings to himself and the whole world. Nicodemus is still in the dark, unable to understand what Jesus is saying to him.